Emma Jean Reborn by Kathi Macias & Dr. Cupid Poe
Heartrending!
Description
Emma Jean Cooper, nicknamed "Emma Jean Two" by her father, was born in 1966, in the small town of Crooked River, Arkansas, where poverty and prejudice were rampant. Emma Jean grew up with plenty of both, to the extent that her father was active in the Ku Klux Klan and exposed his daughter at an early age to the group's clandestine activities. Her mother, who had been raised in a dysfunctional, abusive situation, was unable to cope with the death of her first daughter, also named Emma Jean, and so transferred that daughter's identity to Emma Jean Two, claiming she was the reincarnation of her dead sister.
Emma Jean's childhood was so traumatic and she experienced such extreme parental abuse and rejection that she spent much of her time daydreaming of a better life somewhere-anywhere-away from her family. Ironically it is an African-American classmate named Sadie Garret, a preacher's daughter, who finally gives eighteen-year-old Emma Jean Cooper, daughter of an active Ku Klux Klan member, the courage she needs to escape her racist, abusive environment. Literally running for her life, Emma Jean hitchhikes to California in search of something better than the destructive existence she has so far endured.
The experiences of the next few years are beyond anything Emma Jean could ever have imagined, and ultimately serve only to turn her back toward home to confront the evil she thought she had escaped. Back in Crooked River, Emma Jean takes refuge with her former classmate Sadie and, eventually, in an African-American church, where she begins to learn the secret to overcoming her past and establishing her own identity for a positive future. Though loosely based on a compilation of true accounts, Emma Jean Reborn is purely a work of fiction.
Emma Jean's childhood was so traumatic and she experienced such extreme parental abuse and rejection that she spent much of her time daydreaming of a better life somewhere-anywhere-away from her family. Ironically it is an African-American classmate named Sadie Garret, a preacher's daughter, who finally gives eighteen-year-old Emma Jean Cooper, daughter of an active Ku Klux Klan member, the courage she needs to escape her racist, abusive environment. Literally running for her life, Emma Jean hitchhikes to California in search of something better than the destructive existence she has so far endured.
The experiences of the next few years are beyond anything Emma Jean could ever have imagined, and ultimately serve only to turn her back toward home to confront the evil she thought she had escaped. Back in Crooked River, Emma Jean takes refuge with her former classmate Sadie and, eventually, in an African-American church, where she begins to learn the secret to overcoming her past and establishing her own identity for a positive future. Though loosely based on a compilation of true accounts, Emma Jean Reborn is purely a work of fiction.
Biography
Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored more than 40 books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences. She won the 2008 Member of the Year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) and was the 2011 Author of the Year from BooksandAuthors.net. Her novel set in China, Red Ink, was named Golden Scrolls 2011 Novel of the Year and was also a Carol Award Finalist; her October 2012 release, Unexpected Christmas Hero, was named 2012 Book of the Year by BookandAuthors.net. Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband, Al.
About the Co-Author of Emma Jean Reborn Dr. Cupid R. Poe:
Dr. Cupid Poe is a non-denominational minister and a psychiatrist who formally served as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Meharry Medical College and as an adjunct professor in The Department of Psychology at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. His current practice is in the area of adult psychiatry. Dr. Poe has served as host of two radio programs titled "Forgiveness Today" and was a co-founder and vice president of "Forgiveness Anonymous Ministries". For many years he has been active in homeless and prison ministries.
Dr. Poe has lectured in several prestigious venues. He is a frequent guest on radio and television and is an author of a chapter on suicide in the book "Counseling in Afro-American Communities" published by Zondervan Press in 2002. He is also the author of several booklets entitled "King Saul's Paranoia", "Clinical Depression from a Christian Perspective", and he is co-author of " Christian Reconciliation Counseling". He is also author of an article entitled "The Place of Worship in Counseling", which was published in the international magazine, "Christian Counseling Today". Dr. Poe was a subject of an article titled "The Spiritual Side of Depression", published by "Home Life Magazine" in February, 2002. Dr. Poe and his wife Diane have 2 children and 3 grandchildren and make their home in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dr. Cupid Poe is a non-denominational minister and a psychiatrist who formally served as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Meharry Medical College and as an adjunct professor in The Department of Psychology at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. His current practice is in the area of adult psychiatry. Dr. Poe has served as host of two radio programs titled "Forgiveness Today" and was a co-founder and vice president of "Forgiveness Anonymous Ministries". For many years he has been active in homeless and prison ministries.
Dr. Poe has lectured in several prestigious venues. He is a frequent guest on radio and television and is an author of a chapter on suicide in the book "Counseling in Afro-American Communities" published by Zondervan Press in 2002. He is also the author of several booklets entitled "King Saul's Paranoia", "Clinical Depression from a Christian Perspective", and he is co-author of " Christian Reconciliation Counseling". He is also author of an article entitled "The Place of Worship in Counseling", which was published in the international magazine, "Christian Counseling Today". Dr. Poe was a subject of an article titled "The Spiritual Side of Depression", published by "Home Life Magazine" in February, 2002. Dr. Poe and his wife Diane have 2 children and 3 grandchildren and make their home in Nashville, Tennessee.
My Review ~
Life from the very outset was atypical and perverse for Emma Jean Cooper. She was born into a family whose actions were as bizarre as they were abusive. Born into poverty in Crooked River, Arkansas, exposed to extreme racial prejudice and the Ku Klux Klan, Emma Jean had no opportunity for normalcy. Her father was a mean alcoholic, and her mother an insane and scornful victimizer. On her tenth birthday Emma Jean received a cookbook along with the responsibilities of all the cooking and household duties. Her mother beat her with a razor strap on a routine basis and her birthday was no exception. As if she hadn't suffered enough torment, that night her drunken father shot and killed her dog, the only source of love in her abusive existence. Later that night he visited her bedroom to subject her to the onset of a nightly ritual more painful than any other abuse she had suffered. Time was unkind to Emma Jean, and although she hardened herself to the atrocities she suffered, she vowed she would eventually escape, leaving her misery behind her. Marrying a victimizer added to her suffering, but encouragement from a young African-American acquaintance was pivotal in Emma Jeans life. Her friend Sadie explained to her that God had a good plan for her life. That was just the beginning of a quest for a better life.
Emma Jean Reborn is an unforgettable and heart wrenching story of a little girl exposed to the worst atrocities that life holds. Her life story is told with intensity and clarity, leaving the reader overcome with emotion and dismay. The authors have penned this story with an agonizing and realistic magnitude, exposing the existence of the most horrific circumstances that are encountered by countless children and adults. Components of hope, forgiveness, God's love and promises become the strength that propels Emma Jean through years of struggling toward freedom from the prison of her past. Kathi Macias and Dr. Poe have created a fictionalized rendition of a hopeless child, delivering her through her coming of age, and her quest for mercy and a humane existence with the strength of God's love at the core. A poignant story with undying hope through a merciful and loving God.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the Kathi Macias in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.
Nancee, I so appreciate your honest and insightful review of a book that was undoubtedly the most difficult I've ever penned. I pray it offers hope and healing to so many who need that.
ReplyDeleteKathi, this touched the deepest parts of my soul. Statistics show that this is a situation that is repeated in countless homes around the world, and the sad part of it all is that the cycle continues. Thank you for supplying me with a copy of this heartrending book.
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